This is part six of the Wild Ride Focus series, where I focus on certain aspects or characters of the 2008 Wild Ride through my photos and the occasional interview.

Am Psyched

It's gotta be tough being an am on such a big team of pros on Emerica. You're just one step away from being pro, and yet you're still so far away. Only the best move on from here, but you gotta be hungry. And psyched. Above all, you gotta suck up to Emerica TM Jetski.

On the Wild Ride, Figgy, Jamie, Marquis and Brandon showed they could definitely hold their own. Jamie "Lil' Fuckie" Tancowny probably killed it the hardest, but as far as being psyched goes, Figgy probably takes the crown. I had a little talk with him on a midnight tip, and I don't think you can get any more psyched than this.

This is your second Wild Ride, right?
Yes it is.

How's this one been so far?
We did more skating last year, but it's been real chill so far. All the homies have been coming out, it's cool. I'm so psyched on Jamie "Lil' Fuckie" [Tancowny] being on the trip. He's such a G.

Yeah, watching him skate at the demo was amazing. He was killing it.
He's so good. I wanna get that good. It's so hard though... he's so sick.

You looking forward to getting out to New York City?
Yeah, never been there.

Oh, really?
Yeah [laughs]. I just got the jankiest fake ID, too. So fucking funny. This dude, his face is like kinda short and wide and mine's all long and thin - like a goldfish! [laughs]. So funny. But yeah, New York's gonna be tight. Everybody's been killing it the whole trip - we're gonna kill New York.

Hmm. You think you look like a goldfish?
[laughs] I think do, yeah. It would be tight if I actually had scales and shit.

If you weren't so good at skateboarding, what would you have been doing instead?
I'd be a loser! Skaters are already losers anyway... fuck, if I wouldn't have been skating, I'd probably do some random shit... just chill and stuff. I don't know. I need to be skating.

Have you ever thought about going out to space?
Space? Fuck... I'm no Lance Armstrong.

...
Fuck, I mean Neil Armstrong [laughs]. Damn those space cadets. They're good. Fuckin' Buzz Lightyears and shit. Yeah nah, it's all good. It's probably sick, cause you get there and on the way it'd be so janky and so sketch. So savage. Cause like, those spaceships... they can blow apart. All that weird ass space gravity... So sick.

I'm liking these answers. Who are you really looking up to on the team?Andrew Reynolds and Heath Kirchart. They're definitely it, you know. Like, Leo Romero... He's probably tied with Drew. Leo is so fucking gnarly.

Leo kills it at every single demo. It's amazing.
I get so intimidated. He's so fucking... gnarly. I get so psyched on his skating and I get so amped. There's no way I could ever, EVER, be that good. He's so fucking sick and I love to watch him. Earlier, everybody was kinda waiting for the rain to die down before they started riding [their bikes] and Leo was just like, "Fuck it, man". He was like, "Drew, you leaving for the hotel right now? I'll just follow you right now!" even though you couldn't see shit. We went to a stoplight and he full on just lifted up his leg and SO much water came out. I was like, "Damn, that fool is such a savage."

He's raw.
He is raw as fuck. He doesn't give a fuck. And his skating? He's gonna make Stay Gold really sick. Same with Drew and all those other homies.

Speaking of Stay Gold... how's your part coming along?
Pretty bad. I'm nowhere near the fucking ability of any of these guys. It takes me a long time to get tricks. I get intimidated, but I'm trying my hardest.

You get intimidated?
I get intimidated by all these guys! They're all so good at skating demos. I only land a couple tricks.

You're being a fool now. You land shit all the time. You know people get intimidated by you, right?
[laughs] Nah. There's no way. I'm just that dude who's like - I just cruise around. I try hard stuff, but I probably don't land a lot of it. But Jamie Tancowny? That lil' homie is so good.

Yeah, he's amazing.
He's so good. He gets me so amped. I try hard, but it just takes me a lot longer and I look tall and dumb sometimes. In the end it's okay though, Andrew lets me ride for Baker no matter what.

Andrew's tall too.
Yeah, but he's - he's so good though. He can pull that off.

Did you see Jamie's backside heel at that last demo [in Frederick, MD]?
He was tweaking his ankles so much! He almost broke his ankles in mid-air. That's not even possible, is it? [laughs] He's a lil' G... That fool can do anything. So lucky. He's the shit. Definitely the shit.

Say the Wild Ride doesn't continue next year... do you have any good ideas for a new Emerica tour?
No matter what, with everybody going on a trip it's guaranteed to be so fucking fun and outrageous. And insane. Everybody shreds so hard, no matter where we go, it'll be the best times.

You don't have any better ideas than riding Harleys?
No, I don't! Harleys are the shit. Rolling up to the skatepark, I'm just watching everybody get so pumped. They're lucky, these guys got 'em and it's so gnarly.

You just rode for the first time the other day?
Yeah, first time on a Harley. Just rode around a bit in the parking lot and the tent area, so everybody could watch us and make sure we did nothing crazy.

Was it fun?
Dude. It was so sick. It felt so tight, I'd wanna get one. Maybe later. It's pretty risky business, but I think I could see myself on one one day. It would be SO tight.